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MARINE REVINW. If The Bridge. Editor MARINE REVIEW: The vessel men will oppose the bridge. Of course they will. Why not? Bridging Detroit river is the most seri- ous obstruction that has ever threatened the navigation of the great lakes. The railroad people, in their claim that the rapidly increasing traffic of their roads demands better facilities for crossing Detroit river, and in their persistence in the invasion of the rights of others, overlook and contemn the fact that the still more rapidly increasing commerce on the lakes demands clear channels in the connecting rivers. The relative merits of these two interests have been carefully discussed for years, and to the unbiased judgment it must seem a very contradiction in economics for the government to appropriate millions of dollars yearly for the im- provement of the harbors and channels around the lakes, and at the same time allow Detroit river to be obstructed by a bridge. Suppose that by some convulsion of nature or other cause, an obstruction of as serious character, such as a pier of the proposed bridge, be thrown up in the river at the point where a pier may be placed. Would this obstruction not re- ceive the immediate attention of the government? And would not all the energy of the government and every device that could possibly be employed upon it be immediately concentrated to hasten its removal? Well, then, would such an obstruction placed in the river by a railroad company be any less serious? And is it not just as necessary to prevent such an obstruction being built as it would be to remove a natural one? Suppose we grant the statement of the bridge men that a pier in the river would be no more of an obstruction in the channel than a vessel at anchor in the same place. This is not true, but it is, nevertheless, no argument in favor of the bridge. Vessels are sometimes absolutely obliged to come to an anchor in Detroit river, and this is another reason why any obstruction which can possibly be avoided should be avoided. A master will not bring his vessel to anchor in the riverin the vicinity of De- troit except when absolutely obliged to do so, and then makes his stay there as short as possible. But there is no truth in the statement that the vessel is as much of an obstruction to the channel as a pier, even while she is there, for, should a moving vessel collide with her, the slack of her cable would permit of her yielding to the shock in any direction, thus diminishing the danger of disastrous consequences. On the other hand, if a vessel should collide with a stone pier the chances are two to one that she would be sunk and then there would be two obstructions in the channel instead of one. Following this would come the wreckers' paraphernalia for raising the vessel and the channel would be still further blockaded. The pier would be there for all time and it will frequently happen, as the years roll by, that several vessels would be sunk while one was being raised. These are not fictions as any lake captain from per- s)aal observation of parallel cases can testify. Three years ago a man was stationed in the clock tower of the Michi- gan Central depot in Detroit for several days to ascertain the average length of interval between passing vessels. Whatever the interval may have been at that time, it has nothing to do with conditions at present or conditions that will prevail five years hence. There is an increasing de- mand in the country for commodities of all kinds carried on the lakes, and particularly in the eastern states. Take, for instance, the stone of Lake Superior which is rapidly coming into general use for building and other purposes. The supply of this material of the very best quality in the Like Superior country is simply inexhaustible. This trade is limited as yet, but I am firmly of the belief that there are men now sailing the lakes who will see as large a fleet of boats in the stone-carrying trade as are now Carrying iron ore, and the development and increase of other lines will be such that a short time hence two boats will pass Detroit to the one that passes there at present. But even now if acomparison be made between the business of the roads which are seeking to obstruct Detroit river by a bridge and the mighty volume of commerce which is moving both up and down Detroit riverin almost unbroken streams, and if we divide the right to this highway between these two interests in the proportion developed by this comparison, we will find no argument in favor of a bridge. There is no alternative for the boats. They must have the river. There is an alternative for the railways, With the evi- dence of a tunnel in successful operation under St. Clair river, and the improved machinery and appliances that have been brought into tunnel construction, it is most too much to ask the public to believe that there are insurmountable obstacles in the way of constructing a tunnel under Detroit river. The interests of ten thousand miles of lake coast and the adjacent territory are vitally concerned in the opposition to the construction of the bridge, while the general public is interested in watching the con- test as a particular case involving the well-known general principles of railroad companies which have exasperated the people of this country for three-fourths of a century or more, The railway magnates, whose common motto is '"' good for this day and train only,' have by methods and influences best.known to themselves, obtained possession of whole streets in our cities, defaced parks and terraces with their tracks, and obstructed the streams of the country by their bridges, to say nothing of the grabs by which they have secured a large portion of the fairest parts of many of our states, and all this against the protest of a vast majority of the people. They have not forgotten their cunning, but it will bea deplorable mistake if they are allowed to obstruct Detroit river, one of the most important national and international highways of the world. The whole country should move as a unit in opposition to such a scheme. HARRY STONE. Marine City, Mich., Feb. 4, 1896. Tests of the Serve Ribbed Tubes. Charles W. Whitney of New York, sole agent in the United States for Serve's steel ribbed boiler and stay tubes, sends the REviEw the following result of an experiment made with these tubes and plain tubes at Barrow, England, which was reported some time ago, in Engineering of London: "Some interesting experiments on the relative efficiencies of Serve and plain boiler tubes have recently been made at Barrow by Mr. Blechynden. The apparatus used is shown diagrammatically in the annexed sketch. It consisted of a set of model boilers through which were placed a Serve tube and a plain tube marked B. The tubes of one boiler were coupled to those of the other as indicated, and Siemens' Boiler Boiler oie Pipe = Gas Jet Nees EE = 4 pyrometers, A, A, A, A were fitted at the end of each tube. A blowpipe gas jet was then caused to send its flame through one set of the tubes. The pyrometer temperatures were noted, and also the evaporation effected. The boilers were 21inches long by 7% inches in diameter, and were clothed with asbestos and cotton wool. The Serve tubes were 2¥% inches in diameter outside, and 2,°; inches inside. They have seven ribs, ;;inches deep by ,°, inches mean thickness. The plain tubes were of iron, and were made by Messrs. A. &J. Stewart & Clydesdale, Limited, of Glasgow. These were 23g inches in diametér outside, and 2 inches inside. The mean of several experiments showed that with a tempera- ture of 1,000 Fah. at the blowpipe end of the boilers, and 500 Fah. at the. uptake end, the Serve tube transmitted 6,000 British thermal units per square foot per hour, and the plain tube 4,500 British thermal units per square foot per hour. The area measurements were made on the outside or emission surface of the tubes. From these experiments it would. seem that the Serve ribs are very efficient heat collectors, when hot. gases are passed through the tubes." . Trade Notes. F. T. Holt, representing L. Katzenstein & Co's. metallic packing, called on Cleveland customers last week. One of the best foundries in the southern states has just been built for the Newport News Foundry Co. at Hampton Va., by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., of East Berlin, Conn. It is 160 feet long and 40. feet wide, the central portion being controlled by a traveling crane. The Cleveland corporation heretofore known as the Condit-Fuller Co., will hereafter be known as the Bourne-Fuller Co. and in all respects except name, its business will be conducted as heretofore. This concern is best known on the lakes as sales agents for the Carbon Steel Co, and Cambria Iron Co. of Pittsburg and Johnstown, manufacturers of high grade plate, angles, channels, beams and other material for ship con- struction. Mr. B. F. Bourne, whose name now appears in the name of the corporation, has been the moving spirit in its affairs for some time past. Stocks of Grain at Lake Ports. The following table, prepared from reports of the Chicago board of. trade, shows the stocks of wheat and corn in store at the principal points of accumulation on the lakes on Feb. 1, 1896: Wheat, bushels. Corn, bushels. Chicagors cages. iienaenratare 20,965,000 3,753,000 Duluth....... Seccttboceseeteuirasei'vopteaees » 9,381,000 62,000 | Mal wake. .cccsersssiiGheatete petites 412,000 2,000 Detroite cris: cscs. cocssonsvstevetewenes 9s cee 315,000 27,000 TOLEDO' ssivclusswovwsedecastol aaa PEt one 796,000 530,000 Buffalo.......... itis. & Sec saseeeica 2,575,000 108,000 SPObALS.. 0s ocecoseoetn Te ee 34,444,000 4,482,000 As compared with a week ago, the above figures show at the several points named a decrease of 14,000 bushels of wheat and an increase of 250,000 bushels of corn. On Feb. 1, there was afloat at Chicago 38,000 bushels of wheat, 2,453,- 000 bushels of corn and 227,000 bushels of oats; at Buffalo, 259,000 bushels of wheat, 223,000 bushels of oats and 250,000 bushels of barley; at Duluth, 512,000 bushels of wheat; and at Milwaukee 176,000 bushels of wheat and 120,000 bushels of oats. :